Sometimes I pretend I'm from Canada...

February 18, 2012

Things I love about Paris today...
-Tiny coffees (Are Americans really over caffeinated or over-supersized?)
-Macaroons! (Not like the ones for Passover.)
-Having an entire exchange at the bakery in French! I attempted this yesterday and almost succeeded until the cashier said "Have a nice day.")
-Saint Chapelle. Everything about it is amazing.
-The view from the top of Notre Dame. The stairs to get there...not so much. I feel the need to watch the Disney movie now.
-A perfectly Parisian moment...Walking across the Pont au Change and there was a man playing an accordion, a lovely French song, and a view of Notre Dame in the background. Perfectly Paris.
-An impromptu French concert/sing along in Luxembourg Gardens. A few musicians were playing and brought along song books for the crowd. Passers by joined in the festivities. It was all very lovely. French music just sounds so happy. The gardens in general were lovely. Next time I come, I'm renting a small toy boat to sail in the fountain.
-The Eiffel Tower at night.

Reaching the top of the stairs to the upper chapel in Saint Chapelle and getting a peek at the stained glass quite literally took my breath away. I said a very meaningful, "Holy..." but luckily I caught myself before I finished it off with a word you shouldn't say in church. Pictures (and words) just don't do it justice.

"Sometimes I pretend I'm from Canada..." We had dinner at a cafe off the Pont Neuf while waiting for our boat cruise. The couple to the right were British, the table to the far left was a group of obnoxiously loud American college students with gallon sized glasses of beer (Hello! We're in France. Order wine.), and the family that sat down to our left was an American couple with two small children, one with an obnoxious video game with the Mario Kart on full blast. The only person I heard speaking French was the waiter. It was disappointed to say the least. Our Seine River cruise came highly recommended and we were looking forward to seeing the sights at night. Until we realized that even more loud, obnoxious Americans were using this as a booze cruise. We heard very little that the tour guide said and after sinking into our chairs out of sheer embarrassment at even sharing a continent with these people, I got up and asked them to keep it down. I don't know if I could have lived with myself if I didn't. The family in front of me thanked me in Spanish. My response? "I apologize on behalf of America." I know you can't necessarily teach cultural competence in a classroom, but as a nation we have to figure something out before the rest of the world thinks we're nothing more than an extension of the cast of Jersey Shore.